This from Barb’s elderly aunt who lives in Morwell. The people referred to are Barb’s cousins and live in Callignee, near Traralgon:

“Sue and Ron still have the house but the tractor and heavy machinery have gone so have some of the cattle, Jude has lost everything, house cattle sheep the lot, the fire changed direction before it got to Phillips. but we are all still in tne land of the living and thats all that matters. no one is allowed into the area, it has been declared a crime scene, the fires were deliberately lit. so many people killed. they have a 14yr.old boy they are questioning, as most of the tetevision stations are off the air, it is hard to get any local news,over a 100 people dead and many more just missing. I'll let you know more as we get the news but we are alright for now, love Phyll”

The ABC reports 166 confirmed dead and fires still burning

I spoke to Wendy this morning. I think she said that she had lost a friend in the fires, but I may have misinterpreted that. No doubt she will be able to enlighten us by leaving a comment. And I think she said that Sue and Christian’s stepmother near Healesville was about to evacuate. The zoo in Healesville has already been cleared of animals.

There is something extraordinarily surreal about listening to Melbourne’s weather forecast and fire chaos whilst standing at the kitchen window and watching Derbyshire’s snow, ice and fog!